Fit to party

When Imtiaz Ahmed decided to throw a party a few months ago, his guests were in for a big surprise. For while the menu was elaborate and the location perfect, the focus was on having fun and staying fit. “We wanted to have a different theme and focus on fitness so we decided to throw a zumba fitness party,” says Ahmed, MD of a private limited company, who followed it up with another fitness party at his beach house on East Coast Road. “Around 50 people attended the party and all of them enjoyed it. A lot of them even signed up for zumba lessons at the end of it.” While dancercise has been popular at gyms and fitness studios , an increasing number of people are now discovering the charm of the zumba, a Latin dance-based workout. Though zumba lessons are offered across the city, the cardio-intensive workout is now the highlight of many private parties where the focus is on burning calories rather than consuming them. “Zumba parties are getting popular as there is so much fun with fitness incorporated,” says Vajiha Anwar, owner of Miss. Fit, a fitness studio in Choolaimedu, who organises four to five fitness parties a month. Though the parties are usually held in beach houses on East Coast Road, Miss.Fit has also hosted them at kitty parties for women. Though zumba came to the city just a few years ago, it has quickly caught on. “It is a cross between dance and aerobics and you can burn about 300 calories in one hour,” says G Dhananjai , owner of Evolve Fitness Studio in Alwarpet, which has been offering zumba classes for the last three and a half years. “You also don’t need to be a good dancer to do the zumba.” The private fitness parties they have hosted include Bollywood, zumba as well as Latin styles, he adds. “What is most appealing at a zumba party is the music,” says Senthil Kumaran, master trainer , who also organises fitness parties. “We do easy-to-follow steps, and it is not only good for your abs, but also builds body language, and style.” The novelty factor is also what makes it an edge over other forms. For instance, when Jasbeer Kaur celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary at a city hotel last October, the zumba routine was the highlight. “I have attended a few classes and wanted to introduce it to people of my community, and they really enjoyed it,” says Kaur, a fitness and yoga enthusiast. The fitness parties can last an hour or be spread over a few hours. “It depends on the client. Since it is a high energy workout, the crowd should be able to keep up. So we sometimes do it for 20 minutes, then take a break and get back to it,” says Anwar. Some clients also go the whole hog and want a healthy spread also dished out. So Miss.Fit has an event management company that caters healthy, oil and fat-free food for the guests. But while such parties are a fun way to work out, to really meet your fitness goals you need more regular sessions and be focused on the workout itself, says Dhananjai. “It is very good to incorporate physical activity but there is a difference between workouts and recreational workouts. You need to focus on the activity itself and have the mind-muscle connect, only then will the output be good.”